After a long summer, the NBA season is finally upon us. While the Timberwolves will not have their first game until Wednesday, there is a full slate of games tomorrow night, which will culminate in a match-up between the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. The Cleveland Cavaliers will also be hosting their Ring Ceremony as they are honored as the NBA Champions.
While it seems like a foregone conclusion that this year will bring a rematch between the Cavaliers and the Warriors in the finals, this does not diminish the other exciting story lines across the league, including our own Minnesota Timberwolves’ rise to respectability.
Even if the predictions hold true for the upcoming season, we will at least be watching perhaps the greatest offense ever assembled with the Warriors new Death Star line-up of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green. Durant and the Warriors have been demolishing opponents during the preseason and this should continue into the regular season. It will truly be something to behold.
The Timberwolves may possibly be making a few roster changes before the season begins, as the current roster is heavily skewed towards bigs and point guards since John Lucas III has officially made the team. Tyus Jones is reportedly being shopped with the Sixers, Cavaliers, and Kings showing interest. All these teams are currently in dire need of a point guard and Tyus could help in that regard. Adriean Payne could also be a name to watch for the Wolves to move on from, as they have officially not picked up his fourth year option. There are several players who are just now being cut that are potentially more interesting prospects than Payne that the Timberwolves could pick up from the waiver wire.
The Timberwolves also picked up the options for Tyus Jones, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The stellar Dunc’d On podcast has been doing team by team previews in the last few weeks and finally got to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They spoke with Zach Harper of A Wolf Among Wolves. You can give it a listen here.
In other NBA news, the new CBA is reportedly getting closer to being finalized. This is great news that the Players Union and the Owners seem to be closing in on an agreement for the restructured CBA, as the NBA’s viewership and share in the popular culture has grown incredibly in the last few years. A lockout right now could be disastrous for the NBA’s growth.
For the Timberwolves specifically, it will be important to pay attention to any rule changes to the rookie contract extensions, as upcoming contract negotiations with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins could be dramatically impacted by any modifications to the current rules.
This Week in.... Things That are Great!!!
High Maintenance is a show that has now come and gone on HBO with little fanfare that normally comes with opening on one of televisions few remaining juggernauts. The show itself is not entirely new, as it was cult web series before HBO bought the rights to produce the show.
The premise is each episode is a slice of life of a weed dealer in Brooklyn. Each episode dives into lives of one or several of his clients, with the main character acting as a portal into the everyday triumphs and struggles of the ordinary among us. The show is certainly off-beat, but is not type of stoner comedy that the title suggests. It’s certainly worth a watch, as High Maintenance is another superbly made series that can quickly switch back and forth between comedy and pathos. The first season, of which there are only six episodes, is available on HBO.
Happy Monday!